First Bank of Montana hosted its first customer appreciation luncheon Thursday afternoon as a way of thanking the community for its support of the new branch that opened in our town. "The whole point of the day is to thank our customers and thank the community for the support they give us. Hopefully, we have a partnership for decades into the future. I appreciate everybody's support... since First Bank of Montana is new to the community in the last two years, and with Covid and all the other craziness that has happened, we didn't get to do this our first year. Normally, they have a community appreciation event once a year. So this is something hopefully, if we can keep the communities healthy, we'll be able to do every year for the community and our customers," explained Shaud Schwarzbach, the senior vice president and loan officer.

The moderate heat and breeze made for perfect "cookout" weather, which helped draw a larger than expected crowd. "It was a lot better than I expected. We did something in the paper, but I don't think we sent out any mailers or anything, and it with it being harvest, I was a little bit nervous about anyone turning out, but we're probably pushing 150 people. I know Marie's kettle out there is looking empty. We didn't know what to expect either, so it was hard to put it together when we couldn't give a good number."

Marie's kettle was full of baked beans at the start of the meal, but nearly empty by the time I came through the line at one. Pulled pork sandwiches and coleslaw rounded out the meal, with cupcakes for dessert. The luncheon was catered by Marie Jappe, who owns and operates the Mint Bar. Shaud explained that part of the bank's approach to working in our community is supporting local businesses "We catered with the Mint. First Bank of Montana is pretty big on trying to support the local businesses. This way, we spend more time with the customers and talking with people. So we had her cater. Her food is always fantastic."

When I asked Shaud how the bank was faring in our little town, his response was overwhelmingly positive. "It's been fantastic. This community has always supported the local businesses. First Bank of Montana is community-minded and more down to earth than a big corporate bank. The people have supported us greatly. We've pulled in a lot of business from the surrounding area, the Hi Line. The bank has far exceeded what they thought it would do. By three years out, they thought we would be at a certain point and we've far exceeded that, and it's only been a year and a half. It's all because of the community."

Much of First Bank of Montana's success has grown out of its willingness to engage small communities in a way that reflects the values, needs and identity of the town. "Being in a small town like this, and all of our help here live in the community and know everybody, we love to go above and beyond for our neighbors. We have a great staff here and if it wasn't for them, it could be a whole different story."

In addition, the bank went above and beyond during the Covid lockdowns, which resulted in rapid growth due to small towns leaving the larger banks for smaller institutions that were willing to continue provide services. "...during the Covid and the PPP stuff for the businesses, a lot of the big banks weren't processing them (deposits), we picked up a lot of business out of Havre and the Hi Line because of it. Those people have been loyal to us, they didn't just use us for the process. They've kept accounts here, and it's been a good thing."

Small town engagement is central to the business philosophy of the larger organization. This makes a large bank feel and operate like a local bank. "Glacier Bank as a whole is an 18 billion dollar bank. It's a big bank. For financial performance, community giving, all the things banks are supposed to be doing, they ranked number three in the nation. The thing for me is they operate them as community banks. That's why we have several banks with different names: First Bank of Montana, Valley Bank, Glacier Bank... they all operate to match the communities that they're in and to be local community banks with the strength of a big bank. You can call up to the division presidents and higher. You're not just a number to them. It's a good bank for the people and for the communities. It's been a good move."

Shaud came to Glacier from Northwest Farm Credit Services. "I was super happy at Farm Credit. I wasn't looking for a move, but these guys were persistent, and there's something intriguing about coming back home... Starting over at 22 years into my career was a scary thought, but I knew the community would take care of us. Luckily, I was right."